Sounds part 1 of 5: Christmas Carols
by Mounty Swiss
Summary: This series of 5 short stories started off as a Christmas story for "Lemonpig": The other Christmas... at the Ironside estate, Sonoma, 1993.
1. Chapter 1

_This story is purely fictional. Any resemblance to real persons or organizations are accidental and unintended, although some commonly known history is involved.  
I don't own Ironside.  
_

**Sonoma County and Denver CO, Dec 1993* (phone call)**

_*I am well aware of the fact that Mr. Burr unfortunately didn't live to see December 1993. But as well as he lives forever in our hearts, his character may still live in this story. _

"Yes, Eve, Robert is in perfect health...  
Oh, my dear Eve, we would be so happy to have you and your little family with us over Christmas. Please try to convince your busy husband to take a few days off. He reminds me of Robert who had exactly the same tendency of working himself too hard. You must try and convince him that it is _you_ who needs the holidays, otherwise he may not agree. At least that's what I would do with Robert in the same situation!"

"Katherine, I wish it was possible! Ed needs some rest badly, as he keeps going eighteen to twenty hours a day. I wonder if he subconsciously still tries to meet Robert's standards, and because he feels that he can't do it, that he compensates by working overtime and by perfectionism. Now that he has a deputy he could easily get away over the holidays at least. But I suppose unless Commissioner Fisette personally sends him away he won't take more than two days off. And then there's a second problem... is your house big enough for an autistic boy, his violin and the rest of us?"

Since Robert cared deeply about Eve and Ed he had read a lot about Asperger's Syndrome, ever since his friends had adopted a boy with this disorder. Of course he had discussed it with Katherine. They knew now that autistic children were very strength-sapping, even more so than most other handicapped children. It seemed as if you had to push your energy into these children. It was one of the reasons why Katherine wanted to invite the Browns: Because she hoped that she would be able to provide some respite for the parents. But a violin?!

"Yes, we became aware that Danny adores violin music. He never utters a wish, but when I asked him if he would like to learn how to play the violin, he beamed with joy. We have rented an instrument for him and he now takes lessons and practices about two hours every day, and his progress is amazing. I often accompany him on the piano. I am happy to have a hobby in common with him, because as soon as his beloved Daddy is around he wants to spend his time with him."

"It's really admirable how you two get this special boy to develop his talents! He could not have come to better people. And of course we will open our house and our hearts for him. I will prepare Robert to be patient. You just try to coax Commissioner Fisette into sending Ed away."

"I will. And Danny is much more at ease now. He doesn't need to scream so often now, he often vanishes directly under some piece of furniture." Eve had to smile thinking of her twelve-year-old autistic son's strange habits.

"Won't he be bored and miss his friends?"

"Danny doesn't have a single friend. He spends his spare time with us or alone. As a result he has a lot of time to indulge in his 'special interests' like reading about science or mathematics, or playing the violin."

"Well, actually my dear Robert isn't all that different from him. He spends most of his time engaged in his special interests too: viniculture above all. I'm confident that we will manage to keep them from going at each other's throats."

* * *

**Same time, Dublin, Ireland:**

John McCabe kissed the envelope with the ticket to San Francisco.

Why did he kiss it? Well, a kiss was a sign of love, wasn't it? John hadn't received many kisses in his life, and he hadn't given many either, due to the lack of opportunity. But he loved this ticket. It meant the world for him. It would enable him to free his soul from a weight which was almost as old as him – half a century. He had put aside every penny for the past two years now to buy this ticket. Well, almost every penny.

A few days before Christmas he would fly to San Francisco. From there he would see how he could get to a small town called Healdsburg. And then a certain bastard would be presented a long-overdue bill. It would be the most important thing John ever did in his life; his vengeance, his vindication, his purification, his salvation.

And that's why John kissed the envelope with his ticket.

* * *

**Sonoma County and Denver CO, a few days later (phone call)**

"Katherine! Wonders never cease. Ed had his medical routine check this week. He claimed that all was well, but it seems as if the police doctor has told the Commissioner that Ed needs a break. At any rate Fisette ordered Ed to take a two-week holiday over Christmas! My daughter Suzanne has been invited to spend the holidays with my parents in St. Moritz in Switzerland. She adores skiing. If your offer still stands we will fly to San Francisco and rent a car there. We would like to show Danny a few places where we used to live and work when we were young."

"Of course the offer still stands! Robert and I are already looking forward to your visit." She didn't tell Eve that Ironside still had a few connections to the Denver police, among others to the police doctor...

* * *

**San Francisco, Ca:**

John McCabe was standing in the middle of the rush-hour at the edge of a busy street of a huge town. Maybe rush-hour was 24 hours a day in this town. He didn't know the name of the street. He knew the name of the town though: San Francisco. But right now this name didn't sound as glorious anymore, not the way it had sounded home in Dublin. All John wanted was to get out of it. There was this small town in Sonoma County, Healdsburg, some 70 miles away, but where? How on earth should he get there with all these cars rushing around him and not one which would stop to pick up a hitchhiker needing a ride?

* * *

**Ironside's vineyard, Dry Creek Valley, Sonoma County:**

"No!" Ed shook his head more vividly than usually. "No, my son definitely won't learn to play poker, and that's final. I'm not rich enough to pay all the matches he would lose against you, Chief!"

"Who says that we will play for matches? It could be crackers, like way back in San Francisco!" bantered Ironside.

Ed knew that Ironside would be able to read Danny like an open book. "I want to spare Danny the humiliating experience you gave me. I prefer teaching him chess, where he may – one day – have a chance of getting a draw against you!"

Instead of the poker game Ironside cherished the spirited jesting with two beautiful ladies: his own wife and Eve.

Ed retired onto the couch with his son and a book about the Russian River valley.

Danny listened to the voices of the people who had become his family and their friends. His mother's sounded like a violin, warm and friendly. Mrs. Ironside's laughter sounded like pearls on a chain. Chief Ironside's – in his mind he simply called him "the Chief", same as his father did – the Chief's was different, like the Sea maybe, like big, mighty waves, and sometimes thundering against the cliffs. His father was quiet, as so often. To Danny he sounded like a firm, reliable tree. Once Danny had told Mum that his sister Suzanne sounded like an uneven seventeen. She had answered that she didn't know how a seventeen sounds. It seemed as if not everybody could hear the sounds of numbers or trees or rocks.

Two hours later Danny was still reading the book while Ed... was sound asleep.

"He has been working almost night and day for two weeks now, since he wanted to leave as little work as possible to his deputy," excused Eve.

Danny wanted to protect his Dad too: "Maybe he found the book a little boring."

Quickly Ironside teased: "And what about you, did you find the book boring too?"

Danny was by nature completely oblivious to the feelings of other people. Therefore his parents had taught him that he sometimes shouldn't tell whatever he thought, in order not to hurt people. This was such an occasion, and Eve gave him the "be-careful-or-you-will-be-out-of-line look".

Ironside saw that the boy was losing his composure. All too well he remembered his propensity to scream when this happened. He hastened to reassure him: "Don't worry, in this house you may say whatever you want!"

"Well," answered Danny, trying to be diplomatic, "the phone book might be even more boring, I suppose."

Ironside's roaring laughter awoke the sleeping father. He looked rather sheepishly around and mumbled: "I suppose I'd better take this kid to bed."

* * *

Since Ed was used to rising early in the morning, he couldn't sleep in, and Danny as a typical Aspie didn't need much sleep. Thus father and son went out for a run through the vineyards. In the early light this was a wonderful experience for both of them.

Danny felt close to his admired father, and Ed, who would have liked to spend more time with him in everyday life, was happy that his autistic boy was relaxed and at the same time built up his muscle tone. Ed's training with the juvenile delinquents had helped him stay in better shape than most men his age, but the police doctor had predicted troubles if he wouldn't reduce his working hours to a less crazy level. These prescribed holidays were supposed to help him recover. Now he felt the ever-present tension seep out of his muscles. He should do this every day, he thought... but where find the time?

A little while later Katherine, Eve, Robert and Ed were sitting over their second cup of coffee while Danny had taken up practicing the violin. Ironside had to admire his friend's nerves, knowing how overworked he was. How on earth could he stand this?!  
Ed grinned mischievously: "Well, working overtime has its advantages: I'm never at home when he practices!"

Knowing full well how proud of his son Ed was, Eve still defended Danny, "You are so mean, you two! Actually he is doing remarkably well after having played for only such a short time!" – Which, of course, was very true.

The adults enjoyed their day off, the women exchanging recipes and a few other things the men didn't need to know and Robert and Ed playing a very serious game of chess which didn't come to an end.

The evening brought Danny's big performance. Eve sat down at Katherine's piano and accompanied him as he played all the old Christmas carols he had learned. The adults joined in whenever they remembered the words.

* * *

**Healdsburg, Sonoma county, Ca:**

Later the same night Robert and Katherine were walking through Healdsburg, the small town which lay some ten miles away from their home. The roads were almost empty this late at Christmas Eve. When Ironside was honest he had to admit that he enjoyed the quiet time with his wife infinitely. It was great to have a family with a child around, but Danny was a real challenge, especially his interminable violin playing.

In companionable silence Katherine and Robert moved through the streets. Sometimes they drew one another's attention to a particularly nicely decorated house. It was a Christmas gift of its own just to be together, while the Brown family had gone to the Christmas Eve Mass.

* * *

**Outside the Catholic church St. Peter in Healdsburg, Sonoma County, Ca**

A worn out John McCabe was standing in front of the catholic church of Healdsburg. It had taken a lot longer to get here than what he had expected. Motorists were not very friendly towards hitchhikers. But the only thing that really mattered was that he had made it. A blackboard announced that there would be a midnight mass. Actually this was the perfect occasion to carry out his plans. For the first time in almost forty years he would attend a mass...

* * *

_Author's note: _  
_If you don't understand the timeline please visit my profile._


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

**Catholic church St. Peter in Healdsburg**

A small congregation consisting of mostly elderly people was gathered in the old church, which was exactly the reason why Eve and Ed Brown had decided to attend this mass, although they were not catholic. They had chosen a church where a quiet, traditional celebration was to be expected, as Danny would be more at ease here than in a modern, vivid and loud service.  
Robert and Katherine Ironside had decided to take a nightly walk to see other people's Christmas decorations. They would meet up again after mass.

The Browns, being guests and being the only family with a child, were welcomed very warmly. Eve recognized the names of people Katherine had mentioned in her e-mails: the Derringers, the Stravinskys and a stout man who presented himself as Bill Crawford, vinery-owner. He started immediately to explain why he was alone tonight: "The Ironsides, some neighbors of ours, have bought a dog for Ellen, that's my wife, as a Christmas gift. Now she is on top of the world, but she can't leave the doggie alone. It's quite embarrassing..."

* * *

**Streets of Healdsburg**

"Katherine, Robert! How nice to meet you here!" The chubby lady almost hugged the Ironsides. The tiny dog at her side started to sniffle at Ironside's shoes and he bent down to scratch his ears.

"I can't tell you how happy you made me with this wonderful Christmas gift. I call him 'Christmas', so he will always remind me of this very special Christmas."

Katherine had finally decided that Ellen needed a new little friend after her dog had died*. Robert had agreed that they presented Ellen with one. It looked as if it had been the right decision.

"Bill has gone to the midnight mass. Of course I can't leave Christmas at home after being with us for two days only. But Bill had promised our neighbors to go with them. I will walk Christmas and then wait for Bill outside the church. Thank you, thank you again, my dear friends..."

* * *

**Catholic church**

The priest celebrating the mass was at least in his eighties. He talked slowly, and nothing of what he said was new or exciting, but the entire Brown family felt touched by the warmth and honesty they felt behind the familiar words.

* * *

**Streets of Healdsburg**

A slightly tattered figure on the other side of the street caught the Ironsides' eyes. It was Bruce Lambert, one of their neighbors. "Hey, Bruce, nice to meet you!" shouted Ironside.

The old man shuffled over the street. "Good evening Eve, Robert," he said, slightly bleary-eyed. He smelt of alcohol, yet Ironside knew that he was no drunkard.

"What's wrong, pal?"

Bruce looked very embarrassed. "I lost my car keys."

That was no reason to get drunk. More likely it was the other way round.

"You drank too much and now you have lost your keys?"

"I can't remember when I lost them." Pleadingly he looked at the famous man whom he knew as being so kind. "Sir, you are a great detective, and almost a mind-reader... can't you help me find them?"

Of course Ironside would try. "Tell me where you have been since you left your car."

"I'm sorry, but I don't remember. My car is parked over there," he pointed down the road. "That's all I know."

This was just great. Healdsburg was a small town, but still too big to find a set of keys in it...

Ironside thought about it. Why had Bruce drunk too much on Christmas Eve? He was a widower. Probably he missed his deceased wife on holidays more than ever, and now he had tried to drown his grief. Together with his beginning Alzheimer disease this had led him to forget everything.

"Have you been on the cemetery?" Ironside asked him.

"Yes, now that you mention it – yes, I was there."

It wasn't far away. "Let's take it from there."

The old man led them to his wife's grave. For a minute they stood there in silence, the men keeping their hats in their hands.

A street lamp provided enough light for Ironside to search the space around the grave, but there was nothing to be found.

A small arrangement of dried flowers lay on the grave. "Did you buy this for her?" asked Ironside.

"Err... yes, I did."

"Where?"

"Err... I can't remember."

Katherine bent down. Carefully she turned the arrangement around. On the bottom there was a small label: "sheltered workshop". She read it aloud.

"So it was made at the home for the disabled. Did you buy it there?"

"I suppose so."

The home was their next station.

Katherine rang the doorbell. An elderly lady appeared. "Ah, Mr. Lambert! I thought you would be home by now. It was so nice of you to buy this little bear for our Annie. She was so sad that she hadn't got a personal gift from anybody. You made her very happy! What can I do for you?"

Ironside had to smile: Bruce and his heart of gold! "Where did you buy the bear, Bruce?"

Lambert was too confused to answer, but the social worker did it for him: "It's from the kiosk at the corner. Why do you ask?"

"Thank you, Madam, you helped us a lot. And Merry Christmas to you and your protégés!"

"Merry Christmas!"

Bruce walked towards the kiosk like a sleepwalker. Ironside and Katherine joined him.

"Sir! I'm glad you are back!" shouted the student who earned his pocket money at the kiosk. "You forgot your wallet and key set when you bought that little bear for the handicapped girl, and it's almost closing time."

Ironside saw that a load slipped off Bruce's mind. Yet there was one problem left.

"What's your name, young man?"

"I'm Michael Stravinsky. I'm staying with my family during my holidays and also earning some pocket money."

"Do your parents own a small vineyard?"

"Exactly."

"Could you perhaps take Mr. Lambert home? He lives quite close to your parents, and I don't think that he should drive tonight."

The friendly young man was more than willing to help, and the Ironsides continued their walk.

* * *

**Catholic Church**

Suddenly a dark shadow appeared out of the dark – a strongly-built man. He interrupted the priest in the middle of a sentence. He grabbed the old man around the chest and held a gun to his temple.

* * *

_*Ellen Crawford's dog died in a car accident in ff story „Patterns"._


	3. Chapter 3

ch3

He addressed the entire congregation, "Now listen, you hypocrites. My name is John and I have to say something. Don't even think of fleeing, I have locked the exit door and the key is in my pocket. This is what I want you to know: This devout man here is anything but that. He has committed a crime and he was never punished for it. I will tell you what it was and then I will kill him, because he deserves no better. He has ruined the lives of my mother, my own and many others, and now listen how he did it..."

Everybody was shocked. The old priest was trembling in the assailant's hands.

Danny was about to crawl under the church pews. This man sounded like a buffalo herd stampede, unpredictable and threatening.  
Ed grabbed his shoulder. Nobody was allowed to touch him like this except his father. Danny felt that his dad was here with him. His strength provided him the security he needed.

"Son, I need you now," Ed whispered. "We have to try to save the priest's life. I will talk to John. You sneak up into the steeple. You won't get out from there, but maybe there is a light switch. If so – use it to send SOS. Somebody may notice it and send help."

Danny shook as much as the priest. But he knew that he couldn't let his father down. Ed Brown meant the world to him. He wanted to follow in his footsteps. And if this meant that he had to overcome his fear, so be it. He nodded and started to creep towards the door his father had indicated.  
Ed stood up, smiling reassuringly at his worried wife.

John was appalled when he saw a tall, slender man, about as old as himself, walk towards him. His gun shifted from the priest to the gentleman, who seemed to be completely unimpressed.

Ed placidly tried to appease him: "Don't worry, John, I just want to talk to you."

John had no intention of talking to this guy. He was the enemy. Obviously he had everything John didn't have: a nice dark-blue suit, money, success, an easy life, and that beautiful wife in the background had to be his too.  
"You have everything! You are the establishment! I don't talk to toffs. My mother was a Magdalene, imprisoned in an inhuman institution called 'Order of the Good Shepherd' or something equally ridiculous. She had to work in a laundry like a slave because she'd gotten pregnant with me.  
She had no civil rights; she wasn't even allowed to carry her own name. She had to 'work her sins off', as they said, therefore the laundry. But what about the dirty bastard who got her pregnant? He was never punished. He never cared a fig about the girl whose life he had ruined, nor about her son. Do you think that is right?"

He didn't give Ed a chance to answer but went on: "I was brought up in a children's home and then sent to an Industrial School, and it wasn't great, believe me. It was more like a prison. I never got a decent education. I'm sure you went to university or whatever you call this here. You had all the opportunities, I had none. Of course people like you want to keep things the way they are, good for themselves... People like you made the law and the rules, and people like you break them, but they don't answer for it."

Brown had advanced cautiously.  
John went on ranting about the establishment, but Ed also understood that he felt discriminated and wronged. Vaguely he remembered having read about a scandal in Ireland about "Magdalene laundries", but since Danny lived with them he couldn't spare much time for reading. If what John said was only half truth, then it was terrible.

"John, your life must have been awful tough, and I'm impressed that you still managed it so far. What was done to your mother was cruel and unjust. We have to sit together and find a way to help you, and if your mother is still alive we will seek justice for her."

For a moment John was speechless. Never had he heard someone of the establishment talk this way. The tall man with his calm presence sounded as if he took him seriously. Much quieter he said: "My mother is dead. I only got to know her on her deathbed. She never got out into freedom."

Taken aback Ed thought about a sensitive answer.  
Into the arising silence Bill Crawford shouted: "This is preposterous! You are disrupting a holy mass..."

The spell was broken. What the tall churchgoer had said could not be sincere. John felt betrayed, enraged, out of his equilibrium.  
Only half aware of what he was doing he pulled the trigger, twice, three times. He almost missed Ed... but not quite.  
Soundlessly Brown slumped to the ground.

A tumult broke loose. Eve rushed by, kneeling down at her husband's side. He must have hit his head at a church pew. At the left side of his head, hidden in his hair, she saw the wound which had caused his fall in the first place. It was impossible to tell how badly he was injured.  
Oblivious to the ruckus around her she sighed. Sooner or later something like this had been bound to happen. She brought her unconscious husband into Recovery Position. She used his own clean handkerchief to try to staunch the bleeding. This was one of the things which never changed: As long as he lived he would always carry a white handkerchief in his pocket. Last time she had seen him use it was to empty an ammo clip when Suzanne was a murder suspect...

Now John was pointing at her, but she didn't care. He shouted towards the congregation, "Now be quiet or I will kill the lady too! I don't mind, I have nothing to lose! The man was a liar like everybody who has power and money."

Meanwhile Danny had reached the steeple and was using the light switch to send his SOS.

* * *

**Streets of Healdsburg**

"Katherine Ironside, I think I forgot to tell you something." Katherine knew exactly what was to come, but nevertheless she responded to his tone and looked questioningly at him, as if she didn't. "Have I ever told you that I love you?"

"Yes, my love, you have, but it's still nice to hear it again." She kissed him affectionately.

Suddenly she noticed that he wasn't really focused on her anymore. She had learned to read him very well. Something must have caught his attention.

"What is it, Robert?"

He squinted his eyes, then he nodded. Now she noticed it too: the repeated appearing and vanishing of a light in the tower of the Catholic church. It was somehow regular... there was a pattern, and now Katherine also recognized the sign: an SOS.

"Robert – do you think that this is a child playing around... or some kind of joke? On Christmas Eve?"

"Katherine, give me the flashlight in the bag at the backrest, will you?"

Slowly Ironside started to send Morse signals: "Who are you?"

He was mildly surprised to see that the pattern changed. He read: "Daniel Brown".

Immediately he asked back: "Ironside here. What problem?"

For a minute or two there was no reaction. Then he read: "Repeat slowly"

He did, letting more time between the signs, and got the answer: "Dad shot. Man holds people hostage."  
He read it aloud to Katherine.

"Oh my God! What can we do? You can't ask him if Ed is dead or alive."

"No, and he may not even know."

Probably Ed had taught his son the Morse signs which in the past had saved his life. Obviously Danny's skills at sending Morse code were better than his reading it.

Ironside sent: "Describe situation".

Again Danny seemed to need more time. Ironside beat his fist against the armrest of his wheelchair in frustration.

"Why in flaming blazes...! Ed may be injured and need help urgently, and there are other helpless people in there. This man could create a bloodbath!"

"Robert, please try to stay calm. Danny is an autistic child!"

He knew that she was right. Getting upset would not help. "You are right, Honey, he is... and yes, I will help him get through this."

Slowly and patiently Ironside got out of Danny that the man's name was John, that he spoke with an Irish accent and that had been brought up in a children's home.

Ironside had hoped that the assailant was a local. It would have helped to know something about him when it came to bringing him down. Now it looked as if they weren't that lucky. He knew that Danny had an almost photographic memory. Nevertheless he was a bad witness, because he could not describe people. He might be able to compare the man with his father though, since for him Ed was the measure of all things. "Compare John to dad" he therefore sent.

"Is sure alive," was the laconic answer. It made Katherine almost cry. It was the only difference that mattered to the child: that this man was sure alive and his dad maybe not.

Ironside shook his head and insisted, "More information".

Now he read, "is 2 inches shorter 30 pounds heavier same grayish hair".

This made this John probably an armed, tall, athletic, middle-aged stranger with a troubled past.

There was another important question: "What gun?"

"Old 6 shooter revolver," was the answer. Now this was probably some trustworthy information. Danny was good at remembering facts.

"How many shots left?"

"3".

"Coming in," sent Ironside.

His wife couldn't read the signs, but his face. "Robert, you can't do this alone. We have to call the Sheriff!"

"Katherine – I know the police of this area. They would behave like bulls in a china shop and rather risk people getting killed than to let that man go. No, Honey. Let me do this my way. I owe it to Ed, no matter if he is alive or not."

She knew that before meeting her, Ed, Mark, Eve and Fran had been his family, and Ed was the closest thing to a son he'd ever had, although he never talked about his feelings towards him.  
She loved her Robert the way he was, and risking his life if he thought it was necessary belonged to this package.

A few steps led up to the old St. Peter's church. Ironside used the handrail to pull himself up, while Katherine helped him.

The lock of the oaken entrance door to the church was old too. The key to it had to be a huge thing, at least three or four inches long.

"Darling, please give me my sunglasses out of the backrest bag, will you?"

Katherine didn't understand what her husband needed sunglasses for at night, but she knew that he sometimes worked mysterious ways.

He took her slim hand in his strong one and kissed it. "If I manage to crack this lock you go back into town and ask for an ambulance. I want them to come to the church, but they will have to wait outside until I call them in."

She knew better than to argue with him. She kissed him tenderly and admonished him: "I know that you have to do this. But please, please be careful. I love you very much."

"I love you too. Try not to worry too much."

Ironside used one of the steel temples of his sunglasses to open the lock.  
He inserted the temple into the keyhole and listened carefully while he turned it. It was well oiled and didn't squeak. Slowly he opened the door. The room was lit with candles, but the atmosphere didn't match the friendly light.

A middle-aged, sturdy man was standing near the altar, brandishing a pistol. The old priest was talking to him:

"John – I am so infinitely sorry. I loved your mother with all my heart, but I was a coward. I wanted to leave the monastic order and marry her. My superiors prohibited it. I left anyway, but they didn't let me take your mother with me. That was in 1938. I emigrated into the U.S.A, and ever since I have tried to make good for it.  
You are right to punish me, but please, please let these people go. They don't have anything to do with what I did; and maybe this man's life can still be saved..."

Behind Ironside, the door slammed shut. Now the man who had been called John noticed him. Immediately the pistol was pointed at the new threat. "Stop right where you are!" he shouted, but at the same time his pistol banged twice.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

A sharp sting pierced Ironside's right arm. For a moment he had to clutch his arm in order to be able to cope with the pain. His left hand was slippery because of the blood, but he gritted his teeth and moved on towards the altar.  
The weapon was an old six-shooter revolver indeed. If Danny's observation was correct there had to be one round left – enough to kill Ironside or anyone else.

In spite of the terrible pain in his arm Ironside stayed seemingly cold. This John was no hardened criminal but a troubled person with a mental disorder. It had to be possible to get through to him.

"John, that's your name, isn't it? You don't want to do this. You want justice for yourself and for your mother, am I right? You will get it, but not by shooting me."

John still pointed the gun at him, and he was trembling like an aspen leaf.

Slowly moving to the front church pews Ironside saw Eve and Danny, who were kneeling next to a prone body... Ed's. His face was covered with sweat. Eve had wound her scarf around his temple... and his eyes were open!  
The relief about Ed being alive combined with the pain in his arm made Ironside feel dizzy. But he could not give in to that. He had to face this man, knowing full well that he was risking his life.

"Now tell me, John – what exactly is it you want?"

His voice sounded very determined. It led John to forget the absurdity of their situation and to believe that he would just have to explain everything.

"Listen, I was brought up by monks. They talked about 'substitution' – about Jesus taking sins away. But that's far too easy, far too convenient for those who did something wrong. I want somebody to take responsibility for what happened to my mother and to me, here on earth. This priest got my mother pregnant and then left her. And all you people here are accomplices, because you support this unjust system and this hypocrisy!"

Ironside nodded. "You are perfectly right to be angry about the wrong which was done to you and to your mother."  
How on earth could he convince the man to drop his weapon? Maybe a shock therapy would work.  
"Now look at this boy here, Danny. He was a home child too. He has a bad scar on his arm – and he is autistic." For a second Ironside considered if he would hurt Danny by telling the truth so openly. He decided that no. The kid was as realistic as himself. "Nobody ever wanted to adopt a handicapped, scarred child... until Ed and Eve Brown did so. You have shot the man who made Danny his son and who gave him a family. Is this really what you wanted? Take this father away from this child? Do you reckon that the past injustice will be rectified by the new one?"

John stared at him with blank eyes, trying to understand what he had said.

Ed forced himself to pull himself standing. "Danny, please – tell 'em about Christmas and what it really means..." He swayed and Eve had to support him. She helped him sit down on the nearest pew.

Danny needed all his courage to obey. "Violence is never a solution. Jesus came into the world and gave his life, so that crimes don't lead to revenge anymore. The cycle of violence is broken. Forgiveness can begin. Healing."

John was all mixed up by what this child said to him: a home child like himself... who had got a family and who was loved now... and he had almost killed his father... and now this child was talking about forgiveness... what had he done to that boy? This was so completely wrong...

The gun dropped out of his hand.

"Forgiveness doesn't work. Some things are unforgivable, like what was done to me and my mother, and like what I did to you."

Twenty pairs of eyes were fixed on the boy who had never wanted to attract any attention. He sought eye-contact with his father. Ed, who was barely able to keep upright, nodded at him reassuringly.

Danny swallowed hard.

"Yes, it is forgivable. I forgive you, and so will my father. This is what Christmas is all about."

John sank to his knees, covering his face with his hands.

Ironside made another effort and pulled up beside him. He rested his left hand on John's shoulder. "John, we understand you. We will help you. This evening was not in vain. We heard what happened, and it will not be forgotten again. You were right to tell us. And we won't press charges against you." He knew that Ed would agree with him.

Now Bill Crawford rose. He had not really understood his own part in what had happened, let alone the entire problem. "This is madness. You can't risk letting this man go free, he's dangerous!"

Ironside answered very determinedly, "We risk it. We can't make good for all the wrong which was done. But we can try a new start from here."

Eve saw that Ironside was at the end of his rope as well as Ed, much as he tried to hide it. "Father, please dismiss these people now. We have two injured men here who need medical attention."

Father Paul pulled himself together.

"What we have seen tonight has probably much more to do with Christmas than what I had planned. Go with the Lord's blessing and spread the good news that our Redeemer is born. Amen."

Quietly the people left, even Bill Crawford.

Father Paul led John towards the sacristy. Ironside threw him a questioning look. Could he risk leaving the two alone together? The old priest nodded, surprisingly confident.

Katherine brought in the doctor in who had come with the paramedics. He wanted both victims to be taken to the hospital. Of course both refused.

With a shrug he disinfected Ironside's flesh wound, administered a tetanus jab, dressed the arm and put it in a sling. "At least let me check on that arm the day after tomorrow. It could still get infected. And no driving your wheelchair around on your own, is that understood?"

Under his wife's firm look Ironside nodded, almost a little meekly. Incredible, what women could do to a guy's resistance!

Ed didn't fare any better. "Mrs. Brown – that graze wound is only superficial, but your husband has a concussion. He needs a lot of rest, at least for a few days. See to it that he gets it."

Eve didn't voice her thoughts: That now Ed would have to take the much needed time out... Maybe this injury was a blessing!


	5. Chapter 5

**Epilogue**

It was almost noon on Christmas day when finally everybody gathered in the Ironsides' living room. Robert was as impatient as ever and wanted everybody to believe that he wasn't impaired at all, but his success was mediocre this time. Ed was helped down onto the couch. He didn't even try to resist the ladies' making a fuss over him.

It had been agreed that everybody would get one gift. The meaning of Christmas could not be an opulence of presents, and what had happened the previous night had only made that more obvious.

Danny opened his parcel. It contained a violin. Eve's parents had accepted Danny as their third grandchild. They didn't care where he came from, if Eve was happy to be his mother, and they wanted to endow him as well as Suzanne and her cousin Kim.  
Now they had bought him this instrument. Danny immediately forgot the world around him. He wandered off to the room next door, where the piano was standing, tuned the violin and started to play.

Ironside had received a very special gift too: a big wooden chess game. The entire Brown family had worked together to craft it.  
Ed's contribution was the smallest. He had done the inlay for the board. Ironside knew that he was a handy man, but this perfect work still surprised him. Danny had cut the pieces with accuracy. "He knows well that it was actually you who saved his father's life back in Denver. He wants to thank you with this work," explained Eve. She didn't mention that there were a few special pieces in the game, but Ironside noticed them anyway. The queen bore unmistakably Katherine's facial features, and the king, although he was standing on his feet, Ironside's. The bishops looked like Mark and Fran, and four of the pawns like Ed, Eve, Suzanne and Danny. It had taken Eve the best part of her spare time in December to create these little faces. Ironside was very touched.

"You mean so much to us, Robert. We will never be able to repay what you did for us. And last night again..."

She was interrupted by the ringing of the doorbell, which Ironside found quite convenient, since it spared him an answer. Katherine answered the door.

The new arrivals were Father Paul and John McCabe. The latter was carrying a cookie box.  
"Mince pies, an Irish specialty. John made them for you today," explained Father Paul.

John looked very embarrassed though. "How are you, Sir?" he asked Ironside, appalled when he saw the other man whom he had shot at lying on the couch. To make him feel less guilty Ed sat up.

"I'm so sorry..." stammered the Irishman.

"The injustice done to you was so much more than what you did, John. We can't change the past, but we would like to help you find a future," said Ed calmly.

Ironside and Katherine had put their heads together for some planning.  
"Listen, John," shouted Ironside, almost too loud for Ed's sore skull, "you said that you didn't have much of an opportunity to learn. I suppose it is not primarily Shakespeare and infinitesimal calculus you were talking about, right? I could teach you viticulture. In the long run I could use a good winegrower to help me. That way you could stay near your father. Interested?"

Father and son looked at each other.  
It was John who answered uncomprehendingly, "It can't be that I did something wrong and something good comes out of it!"

"Well, I'm not as good at religion as your father Paul here," answered Ironside, "but if I understand correctly that is what it is all about: That the Lord can make something good out of our mistakes, if we take them to him. And Christmas was the beginning of it all, right?"

Father Paul nodded, tears in his eyes.

Danny, who had interrupted his playing, appeared at the door. This was getting far too emotional for his liking.

Well, he had the means to change it. He started to play:  
_Oh, how joyfully, Oh, how merrily,  
Christmas comes with its grace divine!  
_

Ironside with his quick mind and his rich bass voice was the first to sing the words. Katherine joined him immediately, and merrily Eve, John and Paul helped, while a grateful Ed leaned back onto his cushion and rejoiced:

_Grace again is beaming, Christ the world redeeming,  
Hail, ye Christians, hail the joyous Christmas time._

* * *

_Author's notes:_

_Thanks, my dear readers and reviewers, for your patience. Now we're through with this untimely Christmas story. The next part will be called "Dissonances"._

_Thank you, 'Briroch' and 'Lemonpig', for correcting this story!_


End file.
